Lords and Ladies
Wed, 24 July 2002, 11:11 amWalter Plinge12 posts in thread
Lords and Ladies
Wed, 24 July 2002, 11:11 amWow. I saw Lords and Ladies by Arena last week and I thought it was really great. I was lucky to get in as it had been booked out a few times and was glad that I waited for a cancellation. The whole thing was very well put together from the costumes to the cool makeup to the music and all the scenery. The lady playing Nanny Ogg rocks and so does the dipsy blonde who was Magrat. Loved Death. It must have taken heaps of very hard work from the director and everyone else to pull off such a big show with such style and success. Everyone I know who saw the show thought it was great too. What other stuff does Arena do? I want to see more shows from these guys. They're brilliant.
Re: Lords and Ladies
Wed, 7 Aug 2002, 05:09 pmWalter Plinge
At the risk of perpetuating this even further, I thought I'd provide some realistic (if late) feedback. (Let's see if this one gets four stars....)
I've now seen a dozen Pratchett productions in Perth, and there's been a few more that I've missed! I've performed in three of them and I directed the first Pratchett play in Australia, so I've got a bit of experience with the genre.
The trouble with the Pratchett books is, after a while, they all read the same. I started reading them in 1988 and devoured each as it was published. However, after a few years I started to get bored and moved on. But that's just me. Lords & Ladies was the first Pratchett play I'd seen where I hadn't previously read the book. I went in with no idea about the story, except that it had something to do with elves.
And that pretty much sums up the entire plot: Something to do with elves.
Okay, for anyone not familiar with Pratchett, all of his stories take place on the Discworld, a magical land (flat, like a pizza) populated with Wizards, Witches, Kings, Queens, Dragons and the like. In this installment, a bunch of elves (a "shortage of elves"?), magically imprisoned years ago, plot to escape their captivity and take over the world (or at least one particular Kingdom). A couple of witches try to stop them.
The witches are dour, haughty Granny Weatherwax (Judith Maitland) and bawdy, funloving Nanny Ogg (Francesca Philips). Popular recurring characters in many Pratchett books, much of the fun (and responsibility) depends upon their portrayal. Both actresses established the characters in last year's Wyrd Sisters and it was indeed good to see them back. Unfortunately, this time around the script let them down and they didn't have as much opportunity to work off each other (or part-time third witch, Magrat). Nevertheless, they make the second-best pair of witches I've ever seen, and are obviously having a ball with the roles.
Like Stinger, I preferred Wyrd Sisters - probably because of the stronger storyline. Those that adapt Pratchett's novels for the stage (Pratchett doesn't do it himself) seem to have more success with a strong, established parody (Wyrd Sisters is a spoof of the Scottish play; Maskerade is a spoof of Phantom of the Opera) rather than trying to adapt something less familiar / well known.
Anyway, this time around, the witches had less of a silly accent and could be more readily understood. Granny was suitably superior, but WHY in God's name was she wearing red and white striped tights under her gown??? Horrendously out of character!!! Pratchett himself has admitted that Nanny Ogg is one of his two favourite characters, so naturally she gets most of the good lines. It was nice to see her save the day too, with one of Binky's horseshoes.
There were a couple of subplots: a wizardly childhood friend of Granny returns with romance in mind; a bunch of Morris Dancers rehearse for a play; a quartet of Goth-witch-wannabes challenge Granny for superiority; Magrat tries to juggle witchery and royal duties; but most of these fall by the wayside or are lost in the confusion. The only thread with any satisfactory resolution involved the Wizard Ridcully attempting to woo Granny. MUCH humour was derived from his advances and her withering disdain. In the end, it was nice to see her facade soften for just a moment, as they agreed to stay friends. However, most of the second Act seemed to consist of elves chasing people and vice-versa.
Other characters I liked were Andrew Milne as Ridcully. Whilst far too young for the role, he did a pretty good job of portraying an elderly wizard. The leader of the young Goth witches was an excellent stuck-up, snooty little bitch, and it would've been good to see more of her (the staring contest was very effective) but she seemed to get swallowed in the mayhem of Act 2. Lydia Kenyon as the Elf Queen was gorgeous - very seductive, and moved and spoke perfectly in character throughout.
Speaking of the elves, costumes and makeup were SUPERB. Again, the Goth witches were convincing, the Elf King (Oberon?) a standout, and DEATH very impressive (at least we could understand his voice this year). Well done Christine, and all your comrades. The set was well done, particularly the huge fake rocks, allowing plenty of room for the large cast to run around madly. Last year's rotating-backdrop-thingees were used again (picture one of those old-fashioned rotating towels that used to hang in communal toilets - you'd yank on it and supposedly a clean section of towel appeared, while the used section went back up into the dispenser). They're very clever (and I'll admit I liked them last year), but with the time and noise needed to rotate a new painted backdrop into view, plus the fact that they broke several times during the season, are they really worth all the hassle?
It was an.... interesting.... choice to allow all the cast to come into the foyer in full costume and makeup to mingle with the audience at the end of the show. If nothing else, it gave us a close-up look at the wonderful costumes and makeup.
Lighting was great (sorry I'm not an aficionado and can't offer more feedback), and it's nice to see that director Simon James has an impressive collection of sci-fi movie soundtracks upon which to call (Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Empire Strikes Back, Terminator, Star Trek III & IV, 2001 - A Space Odyssey, etc). The venue was lovely, but why were there no signs pointing the direction for patrons? I know of some people who wandered around the Curtin campus, trying to find the closest car park, then trying to find the best route to the theatre. A couple of "This Way to L&L" signs wouldn't have gone astray. (I was going to say "next time" but not from the sound of Joe's posting.....)
JB
I've now seen a dozen Pratchett productions in Perth, and there's been a few more that I've missed! I've performed in three of them and I directed the first Pratchett play in Australia, so I've got a bit of experience with the genre.
The trouble with the Pratchett books is, after a while, they all read the same. I started reading them in 1988 and devoured each as it was published. However, after a few years I started to get bored and moved on. But that's just me. Lords & Ladies was the first Pratchett play I'd seen where I hadn't previously read the book. I went in with no idea about the story, except that it had something to do with elves.
And that pretty much sums up the entire plot: Something to do with elves.
Okay, for anyone not familiar with Pratchett, all of his stories take place on the Discworld, a magical land (flat, like a pizza) populated with Wizards, Witches, Kings, Queens, Dragons and the like. In this installment, a bunch of elves (a "shortage of elves"?), magically imprisoned years ago, plot to escape their captivity and take over the world (or at least one particular Kingdom). A couple of witches try to stop them.
The witches are dour, haughty Granny Weatherwax (Judith Maitland) and bawdy, funloving Nanny Ogg (Francesca Philips). Popular recurring characters in many Pratchett books, much of the fun (and responsibility) depends upon their portrayal. Both actresses established the characters in last year's Wyrd Sisters and it was indeed good to see them back. Unfortunately, this time around the script let them down and they didn't have as much opportunity to work off each other (or part-time third witch, Magrat). Nevertheless, they make the second-best pair of witches I've ever seen, and are obviously having a ball with the roles.
Like Stinger, I preferred Wyrd Sisters - probably because of the stronger storyline. Those that adapt Pratchett's novels for the stage (Pratchett doesn't do it himself) seem to have more success with a strong, established parody (Wyrd Sisters is a spoof of the Scottish play; Maskerade is a spoof of Phantom of the Opera) rather than trying to adapt something less familiar / well known.
Anyway, this time around, the witches had less of a silly accent and could be more readily understood. Granny was suitably superior, but WHY in God's name was she wearing red and white striped tights under her gown??? Horrendously out of character!!! Pratchett himself has admitted that Nanny Ogg is one of his two favourite characters, so naturally she gets most of the good lines. It was nice to see her save the day too, with one of Binky's horseshoes.
There were a couple of subplots: a wizardly childhood friend of Granny returns with romance in mind; a bunch of Morris Dancers rehearse for a play; a quartet of Goth-witch-wannabes challenge Granny for superiority; Magrat tries to juggle witchery and royal duties; but most of these fall by the wayside or are lost in the confusion. The only thread with any satisfactory resolution involved the Wizard Ridcully attempting to woo Granny. MUCH humour was derived from his advances and her withering disdain. In the end, it was nice to see her facade soften for just a moment, as they agreed to stay friends. However, most of the second Act seemed to consist of elves chasing people and vice-versa.
Other characters I liked were Andrew Milne as Ridcully. Whilst far too young for the role, he did a pretty good job of portraying an elderly wizard. The leader of the young Goth witches was an excellent stuck-up, snooty little bitch, and it would've been good to see more of her (the staring contest was very effective) but she seemed to get swallowed in the mayhem of Act 2. Lydia Kenyon as the Elf Queen was gorgeous - very seductive, and moved and spoke perfectly in character throughout.
Speaking of the elves, costumes and makeup were SUPERB. Again, the Goth witches were convincing, the Elf King (Oberon?) a standout, and DEATH very impressive (at least we could understand his voice this year). Well done Christine, and all your comrades. The set was well done, particularly the huge fake rocks, allowing plenty of room for the large cast to run around madly. Last year's rotating-backdrop-thingees were used again (picture one of those old-fashioned rotating towels that used to hang in communal toilets - you'd yank on it and supposedly a clean section of towel appeared, while the used section went back up into the dispenser). They're very clever (and I'll admit I liked them last year), but with the time and noise needed to rotate a new painted backdrop into view, plus the fact that they broke several times during the season, are they really worth all the hassle?
It was an.... interesting.... choice to allow all the cast to come into the foyer in full costume and makeup to mingle with the audience at the end of the show. If nothing else, it gave us a close-up look at the wonderful costumes and makeup.
Lighting was great (sorry I'm not an aficionado and can't offer more feedback), and it's nice to see that director Simon James has an impressive collection of sci-fi movie soundtracks upon which to call (Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Empire Strikes Back, Terminator, Star Trek III & IV, 2001 - A Space Odyssey, etc). The venue was lovely, but why were there no signs pointing the direction for patrons? I know of some people who wandered around the Curtin campus, trying to find the closest car park, then trying to find the best route to the theatre. A couple of "This Way to L&L" signs wouldn't have gone astray. (I was going to say "next time" but not from the sound of Joe's posting.....)
JB
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